Session Title and description

Joyce Francis will discuss a document that has become the Salish Sea “Bible” of Liberal Religion.

An overview of the current NAUA Principles process including an overview of results from the recent survey of NAUA members.

Speaker – Terry Anderson and Lincoln Baxter

🔹 “Reimagining Liberal Religion Without Losing Its Soul”

How do you evolve practices and messaging without dissolving identity or principles?

🔹 “From Institution to Movement: The Future of Liberal Religion”

Should liberal religion move away from congregations toward networks, communities, and ideas?

🔹 “Can Liberal Religion Compete in a Meaning Marketplace?”

Explore how people seek meaning today (wellness, self-help, activism) and where liberal religion fits.

🔹 “Clarity vs. Inclusivity: Can You Have Both?”

A discussion carrying on from an the July Academy session with Sunil Wijeyesekera.

🔹 “What Do We Mean by ‘Spiritual’—and Do We Still Need the Word?”

Unpack the meaning of spirituality in a post-theistic, pluralistic context.

🔹 “Shared Practices Without Shared Beliefs”

How can people with radically different metaphysical views still practice together meaningfully?

🔹 “Awe, Wonder, and Meaning Without God”

Explore secular pathways to transcendence and meaning.

🔹 “Speaking Across Belief: Conversations That Don’t Collapse”

Practical tools for dialogue between theists, atheists, and agnostics.

Panelists Bob Simoni, John Wunderlin and Rev Alex Holt

(Interactive session on navigating moral disagreement without fragmentation)

🔹 “Is Everything Relative? Rebuilding Moral Confidence”

How can liberal religion articulate moral clarity without dogma?

🔹 “Human Dignity: A Foundation or a Preference?”

Examine whether core values can be grounded in something more than consensus.

🔹 “Reason, Emotion, and Ethics: Who’s Really in Charge?” (Mark?)

Explore how moral decisions are actually made—and how they should be made.

🔹 “Disagreement Without Division: Practicing Tolerance in Real Time” (Circles Team?)

A panel discussion moderated by Sunil Wijeyesekera with Frank Casper, Author of Used to be UU, and Republican Theocracy and other panel members.

Does online religion work? Which religions and type of service is thriving? Does online anonymity  help or hinder religious experience?

Terry Anderson, PhD is a professor emeritus from Athabasca university- Canad’as Online University. His theoretical work and empirical research foci\used on the role of human, content and machine interaction in online learning context.

Coffee Hour Break

Liberalism as a Higher Order Value feels especially relevant as we proceed with our discussions about introducing a set of NAUA principles.“Liberalism should be regarded not as one value among many, but as the higher-order value that allows people with deeply different political values to disagree productively and resolve conflict without coercion or force.”

Helen Pluckrose is an independent author and journalist living in London, England. For the past decade Helen has been publishing and leading programs and initiatives that challenge authoritarianism and illiberal actions – both on the right and on the left.

Join us as we review past year’s financial documents, officers reports, and elect our new Board of Trustees.

NAUA President Roy Dickerson

Joanne Krettek and Roy Dickerson

🔹 “Guided Awe: Finding Transcendence in Everyday Life”

Short guided experiences + reflection (nature, music, memory, etc.)

🔹 “Embodied Presence (Even on Zoom)”

Gentle practices using breath, posture, and awareness to create grounding.

🔹 “Story as Sacred Practice”

Participants share short personal stories and reflect on meaning-making.

🔹 “Ritual Without Dogma: Creating Meaning Together”

Group co-creates a simple ritual in real time.

🔹 “Personal Spiritual Practices”

Joanne Kretteck, Thomas Vizzard and Mary Bennett guide us through a number of religious experiences in a virtual environment.

A closing Celebration, with music,

Rev Denise Tracy leads a service with the UU Community Church of Park Forest and UU delegates online and in person.